mrtr
Multi-round tool result: on the 2026-07-28 protocol a tool that needs user
input mid-call returns resultType: "input_required" with embedded
inputRequests and an opaque requestState, instead of pushing a
server-to-client request. The client fulfils the embedded requests and retries the
original tools/call carrying inputResponses and the echoed requestState.
The story shows both the Client auto-loop (one await call_tool, callbacks
fired transparently) and a manual client.session loop (the persistable
form). Because requestState round-trips through the client, it also shows
the security surface that protects it: MCPServer seals state by default
under a process-local key, handlers keep writing plaintext, and the wire only
ever carries an opaque token. The manual loop tampers with the sealed token to
show what a forged echo gets back.
Run it
# HTTP: the client self-hosts the server on a free port, runs, then tears it
# down (the InputRequiredResult round-trip is 2026-era only)
uv run python -m stories.mrtr.client --http
# same, against the lowlevel-API server variant
uv run python -m stories.mrtr.client --http --server server_lowlevel
What to look at
server.pybuild_server: no security configuration at all. The default seals under a key generated at process start, which is right for a single-process server like this one; a fleet (multi-worker or load-balanced) shares keys withrequest_state_security=RequestStateSecurity(keys=[...])so any instance can verify state another minted.server.pydeploy: handlers stay plaintext. The first round returnsInputRequiredResult(input_requests={...}, request_state="awaiting-confirm")and the retry assertsctx.request_state == "awaiting-confirm". The tool never touches the crypto; the boundary seals on the way out and unseals the echo on the way back in.client.pymain: the auto-loop is invisible at the call site:Client(target, mode=mode, elicitation_callback=on_elicit)thenawait client.call_tool("deploy", ...). The sameon_elicitcallback the legacy push path uses is dispatched for each embeddedinputRequestsentry.client.pymanual block:client.session.call_tool(..., allow_input_required=True)returns the rawInputRequiredResultsorequest_statecan be persisted between rounds. The wire value is an opaque sealed token, not the string the server code wrote. The client asserts exactly that, then retries with one character of the token flipped and gets the single frozen error every verification failure maps to:-32602,"Invalid or expired requestState",{"reason": "invalid_request_state"}. The specific reason (tampered tag, expiry, wrong request, wrong principal) appears only in the server's log, never on the wire. The untampered token then completes the round normally.server_lowlevel.py: the lowlevel tier doesn't seal by default; the same enforcement is one appended middleware:server.middleware.append(RequestStateBoundary(RequestStateSecurity.ephemeral(), default_audience=server.name)).
Caveats
- Loop bound. The auto-loop gives up after
input_required_max_rounds(default 10) withInputRequiredRoundsExceededError; raise it on theClientctor or drop to the manual loop. - The default key dies with the process. It is generated at startup and
held only in memory, so a server restart (or a retry landing on a different
instance) invalidates in-flight rounds: the client gets the same frozen
rejection and must start the flow over. Use
RequestStateSecurity(keys=[...])when state must survive either.
Spec
Input required tool results (server features), Multi-round-trip requests (security patterns)
See also
legacy_elicitation/ and sampling/: the handshake-era push equivalents this
mechanism replaces on the 2026 protocol. refund_desk/: resolver DI at the
MCPServer tier: the questions a tool can declare instead of pushing by hand
(its elicited answers ride in the same sealed requestState).